View looking across Billet Road

Image: © Marathon Taken: 29 Dec 2016

Furze Hill Farm is the last remnant in Barking & Dagenham of the agricultural landscape which predominated until the 1920s. Although the fields here serve as a reminder of how most of Barking & Dagenham once looked, this particular farmland is of relatively recent origin. In the early 19th century this land lay within Hainault Forest. The name 'Furze House' refers to the heathy nature of the Forest, furze being an old name for gorse. It was only after the removal of the Forest's legal protection in 1851 that this area was turned over to agricultural use. The area of open countryside here in the north of Barking & Dagenham was reduced to the current extent around 1960 when the Marks Gate housing estate to the south was completed. Billet Road is a classic example of how the Green Belt works. To the south is the estate of Marks Gate while across the road is open countryside. The land just across the road here belongs to Furze House Farm. The two tower blocks in the distance are at Hainault.

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